The Hippogriff Necklace
by quattrolove
Summary: STOPPED Ron recieves a letter from Hermione. He concocts a plan. But will it work...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one.

Ron looked at the letter in his hands.

_Dear Ron,_

_I had a great time in Bulgaria, and Victor is fine. (His name is not Vicky)_

_How are you? I'm coming to stay by Floo Powder on Monday and am bringing Crookshanks with me, just to warn you!_

_Did you like the present? I loved yours! An Advanced Guide to Arithmancy, what a perfect present! Why did you send me a present, when all I sent you was a souvenir? Also, I don't understand your note? Why did you say you had something to tell me when I saw you when you could have easily told me in a letter? I hope you're alright. Is it something about Harry? Now you've got me all worked up! _

_See you soon!_

_Love from,_

_Hermione._

Was the love a friendly, or did she mean what she said? Just then, Harry came in.

"Oh no, you're not looking at that letter again are you? Come off it mate, we all know she likes you, you've just gotta tell her you like her!"

"Has she ever actually said, 'I like Ron'? I think not! Harry what do I do? How am I going to tell her?"

"Just go along with the original plan and you'll be fine!"

Just then Mrs Weasley called up the stairs,

"Harry! Ron! Hermione's here!"

Ron took a deep breath, stuffed the letter under his pillow, and went downstairs with Harry.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione said, hugging each of them in turn, "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Hermione!" said Harry.

"Yeah, second that! Hey, I'll help you take the cases up to Ginny's room!"

"Thanks Ron, that's really nice!" Hermione said, picking up her trunk and handing it to Ron, while she took her bag and Crookshanks' cage.

About an hour later, they were all sitting at the table and listening to Hermione tell them all about Bulgaria.

"Yes, it was fascinating! I learnt a lot about the local wizards of the pat, and went skiing, it was a fantastic time!" Reading the look on their faces, she continued, "I didn't see much of Viktor though, he was too busy training for Quidditch. Most of the time we spent together was just in the library, reading books and getting to know each other a bit more, but no, nothing happened. We're just friends, and not even good friends, really!" Hermione finished, smiling around at the faces. Ron felt the jealously that had been boiling in him subside as Hermione said, "just friends," and knew that she wouldn't lie, knowing he could go on with the plan.

After dinner, Harry Ron and Hermione went out for a walk. They walked along the gardens and through the back gate into the field beyond. They settled under a tree and Harry told Hermione all about his summer. Soon Harry said,

"Well, I'm tired. I think I'm gonna head back,"

"I'll come with you," Hermione and Ron said, simultaneously.

"No, let Ron tell you about his summer Hermione," Harry said, with a discreet wink at Ron.

"Alright, you go on. We'll catch up with you soon!" Hermione said, giving him a wave as he walked back down to the garden. "What did you want to tell me Ron?"

"Well, I got you another present," said Ron, bringing out a long, narrow box.

"Why?" Hermione questioned, eyeing the box, "You don't need to. It's not my birthday, or Christmas,"

"Just take it," Ron said, handing her the box and fiddling with his thumbs.

Hermione slowly opened the box and saw a gorgeous silver necklace with a pendant hanging on it. The pendant was of a Hippogriff.

"Ohh, it's lovely," she whispered, but as she pulled out the necklace, a scrap of parchment came loose. She unfolded it and read the message.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I know I've waited to long to do this, but I wondered if you would like to go out with me. You know, I'm probably delirious, and all, but in case you'd forgotten, the Hippogriff is a reminder of the time we held hands. Well, hope you like it._

_Love, Ron._

Hermione looked at Ron, pulled him close and kissed him. He slipped his arms around her waist, just as she slipped hers around his neck. They held each other for a long time and when Ron finally broke away, he said in a strangled voice,

"I guess that's a yes then?" As a reply, Hermione kissed him again.

Harry watched them from the garden and knew that his work was done. Finally, they were happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

Ginny stared in amazement as Ron plonked himself down on the sofa next to Hermione and put his arm round her shoulders. She didn't even protest!

"Um, Ron? What are you doing?" Ginny asked as Ron turned to look at her, ears going pink. Hermione pulled out a necklace Ginny had never seen before and started to fiddle with it. As Ginny looked closer, she could see it was a Hippogriff. Realisation dawned on her.

"Hermione, that necklace, Ron gave it to you didn't he? Are you guys going out?"

"Well, we might be," said Hermione with a cheeky grin.

"They are," said Harry, coming into the room and sitting next to Ginny, "I saw them kissing in the field yesterday night.

"OH MY WORD! You were spying on us?" Hermione yelled in mock outrage, jumping up and striding towards Harry.

"Yeah. What you gonna do?" Harry said, relaxing back.

Ginny blushed slightly as Harry turned to her, smiled and winked.

"What am I going to do?" moaned Ron, just as Fred and George came in.

"About what, little bro?" Fred said as Hermione sat down next to Ron.

"They're going out. He asked her last night. I think he meant how he was going to hide it from you and George," Harry said, smirking again.

"Ooooh! I wonder how long he was going to be able to hold out on us, George?" Fred said, stoking his chin.

"No more than 1 day, Fred," said George, grinning mischievously at Ron.

Ron groaned again and leant back against the edge of the sofa.

"Dinner's ready!" called Mrs Weasley, and everyone went into the kitchen to sit round the table. Mrs Weasley put a big pot of soup on the table and a huge plate filled with warm rolls.

"Mmm, that smells really nice!" Harry said, looking with longing towards the soup. "What kind of soup is it?" he asked, looking at Mrs Weasley.

"Chicken, dear," Mrs Weasley beamed, "and you help yourself. You're way too thin. And that goes the same for you, Hermione. You must have been starved!"

"Oh no, Mrs Weasley, I'm not starved, but thanks all the same!"

Everyone dug in happily and in no time at all, all the soup and bread had gone.

"Now everyone, the reason I only made soup is because I've made something very special for dessert." She hurried out to the kitchen and while she was gone, Ginny said to Harry and Hermione,

"It's chocolate gateau. Whenever she makes soup, it's always chocolate gateau."

Fred, George, Ron and Mr Weasley all nodded happily. Suddenly Mrs Weasley came bustling back in and put a covered tray in the middle of the table. She uncovered it with a flourish and revealed a large chocolate gateau with custard poured over it.

"Oh Mum, you've never done custard with that before!" Ginny exclaimed in astonishment.

After dinner, Ginny and Hermione went up to their room, as did Ron and Harry, seeing as it was very late.

When they were in their pyjamas and ready for bed, Ginny sat down on Hermione's bed and said,

"Well? How did he ask you out? I want all the details!" Hermione blushed, and began,

"When Harry supposedly went back inside and left us two out there, Ron said that he had got me another present. Then he handed me a box, and inside was this charm!" She held out the necklace she had been playing with all day. "As I took it out, a note fell out. Here, read it," she said as she handed Ginny the note.

"Oh, that's so sweet! It's really unlike Ron to do that! Well, come on, what happened then?" Hermione blushed harder and said in a voice hardly any louder than a whisper,

"I kissed him as a way to say yes."

"Oh, why can't that happen to me? I get stuck with no-one, while you get the guy of your dreams!"

"How do you know he's the guy of my dreams?"

"From your face when you play with that necklace or look at him."

The next day Harry and Ginny were playing Quidditch against Ron, Fred and George. It was one-sided because Fred and George had thought that Harry and Ginny were such good Quidditch players that they needed someone else. For example, Ron! Hermione was refereeing, seeing as how she hated broomsticks with a vengeance, and didn't see the point of Quidditch. Harry and Ginny won by 20 points even with an unfair disadvantage! After the game, Ron and Hermione went off into the town, and Fred and George went off to work on their new Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Harry and Ginny played against each other, taking turns of the Firebolt. Up in the air again, they saw Ron and Hermione coming back from town. Harry flew over to Ginny, nudged her, and said:

"Considering they've only been going out for one day, they look very close don't they?" Ginny replied:

"Yeah! I wonder if that happens to everyone, cos they certainly weren't like this before!" Ginny turned away slightly as she felt a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Shall we go and surprise them, by flying up behind them and suddenly laughing?"

"Yeah! That would be so cool!" Ginny said, smirking as a way to hide the faint blush that, annoyingly, was still on her cheeks.

"Can your broom be quiet?" Harry asked, eyeing the old Cleansweep dubiously.

"Yes!" Ginny said indignantly, starting to swoop down to where Ron and Hermione were walking, hand in hand. Harry shrugged and swooped down after her.

"3, 2, 1…" Harry whispered in Ginny's ear as they closed in on them.

"BOO!" Harry and Ginny shouted in unison.

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!" Hermione screamed, turning round, seeing Harry and Ginny almost falling off their brooms with laughter.

"THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" she shouted, as Harry and Ginny landed, suddenly serious. Ginny sniggered. Harry looked at her curiously, and she nudged her head in the direction of Ron. He was silently shaking with laughter, as Hermione kept raging on about heart attacks and dangerous fun.

"Um, Ginny?" Harry whispered looking tentatively at Hermione.

"Yes?" she whispered back, still slightly sniggering.

"I think taking off now would be the best idea we've had."

"I agree!" whispered Ginny, taking a discreet step forward and slipping her broom slowly between her legs. Harry followed her lead, and soon they were both ready for takeoff.

"Hermione?" Harry said.

"What?" Hermione raged, still fuming.

"We have to put our brooms away, so, bye!" At that word, Harry and Ginny kicked off simultaneously, racing into the sky, Harry controlling the Firebolt carefully so he didn't abandon Ginny with his superior broom.

"GET BACK HERE!" Hermione yelled, waiting a second before storming over to Ron and saying,

"Right, let's go. We're going to the broom shed now."

"But, we, I, oh fine, whatever," Ron sighed, trudging after a fuming Hermione.

"Hey! We did it!" Harry said as they touched down, high-fiving Ginny.

"Yeah! We did, didn't we?" she giggled, as they put their brooms down. Their hands touched briefly as they placed their brooms next to each other, and Ginny blushed bright red as Harry coughed and turned away. Ginny heard a rustle of material, and turned round, only to get a full view of Harry's bare back. She blushed even more furiously, and spun round again.

"H-H-Harry," she stammered, fighting against the giggles that were threatening to come out of her mouth, "what on earth are you doing?"

"What? Oh, I'm just hot, that's all. I man, we've been flying all morning and it gets really hot. You of all people should know that," Harry smiled, seeing the edges of red on the backs of Ginny's ears.

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Look, Ginny, if it makes you uncomfortable, then I'll put my shirt back on, no problem." Harry said, wondering what was wrong with him, as he wanted Ginny to turn round right this moment.

"Well, I, it, I mean, I don't know whether it makes me uncomfortable. You just do what you want." Ginny stuttered, hoping he wouldn't put his shirt on. She heard another rustle of material and slowly turned her head round, only to feel disappointment when she say that Harry had put his shirt back on.

"Oh, thanks Harry! I guess it was making me a little uncomfortable!" Ginny giggled, turning her whole body round, and making for the door. Harry blocked her way with his arm, and as she started to say,

"Harry, what on…" she was cut off. Harry had suddenly felt the greatest urge to kiss her, so he did. As he slipped his arms around her waist and she draped her arms around his shoulders, the door burst open. Engrossed as they were, Ginny and Harry didn't hear it, but when Hermione stopped, gaping, Ron saw what was happening and gagged. This time, Harry and Ginny heard it. They broke apart, looked at the door, and let go of each other hastily, and as Harry stood stock still, staring at his feet, waiting to hear what Ron would say, Ginny went bright red and pushed past Hermione and ran back to the field as fast as she could, hiding under the same tree that Hermione and Ron had the other night.

"Well." said Ron, clearing his throat and making Harry look up at him. "I never knew you felt that way about Ginny, but, well, I suppose if you must."

"Thanks mate!" Harry sighed, relaxing.

"Um, Harry? Don't you think you should go after her?" Hermione said, fiddling with her charm.

"Um, yes, yes I should." Harry said, walking past Ron, who was now grinning. He looked around him, and saw a small figure under the tree in the field. Running towards it, he saw his assumption was right. The figure was definitely female and had bright red hair. It was Ginny.

Sitting down next to her, he said,

"Ginny, are you OK? I shouldn't have done that should I? I'm sorry. I won't do it again…"

"No, Harry, it's not you, I'm glad you did that, cos I would never had had the courage to make the first move, it's just, I'm a little bit embarrassed. I'll get over it, but your own brother catching you kissing someone!"

"Well, speaking of that, Ron doesn't mind, he told me."

"Oh! Yay!" Ginny giggled, hugging Harry. As they pulled apart, Harry murmured,

"Ginny."

"Harry."

As they leant towards each other, and kissed, Hermione sighed.

"Well, Ron, I think we've all finally done it! Harry got us together, and we got them together!"

"Yes, yes, yes, but can we go now? Watching your little sister kissing your best friend is king of disturbing."

"No-one's making you watch Ron," Hermione giggled, turning and walking back with Ron.

"Please don't. You sound like my mother." Ron sighed and clutched Hermione's hand as they headed towards the back door, grinning.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Two days later, Hermione was sitting with Ginny in the sitting room, while the boys were in town.

"Please tell me what happened," Hermione pleaded, "I told you what happened between me and Ron!"

"Well, no harm could come of it I suppose, but if it does, you're gonna pay!"

"Yes, of course, just tell me what happened!" Hermione gasped quickly, settling herself for what was bound to be the best story of the year.

"Well, after we got to the shed, as we were putting our brooms back, our hands brushed. Then, blushing really badly, I spun round. When I heard something, I turned round, and I saw Harry's bare back! I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was hot, so he had taken off his shirt. Then he said if it was making me uncomfortable, then he'd put it back on. And he did! So I, still bright red, went to leave, but he stopped me, and then, out of nowhere, he just kissed me! Of course, it wasn't as romantic as you and Ron, but I thought it was amazing!"

"Oh my word, that was way better! You actually saw your boyfriend's back! The best I've seen is Ron's arms!"

"Well, just don't ever go into details if you see any more of him, I'll go insane! He is my brother!"

"Yeah, you're right! Oh, have you told Fred and George yet?"

"No, and I never will! I don't want him black and blue!"

"Who?" George asked, entering the room.

"Yeah, who are we gonna have to beat up? Wait, you haven't got a boyfriend have you?" Fred sniggered. Ginny blushed, and leant her head forward, so her hair hid her face, then threw her head back onto the back of the sofa, and covered it in her hands.

"Ooh, she has! Who is it?" George asked, nudging Fred and winking. Through her hands, you could see Ginny get redder and redder, till a passer-by would have thought her head was on fire.

"Ohh," said Fred knowingly, "I get it. One, you don't want to talk about it cos you think he'll get beaten up, and two, it's HARRY!"

"OK, what's all the shouting about?" Mr Weasley said, coming into the room.

"Dad, they're teasing me!" Ginny yelled, standing up suddenly, and preparing to battle.

"Only cos you have a boyfriend!" Fred said in a singsong voice.

"Yeah, and it's Harry!" George said, in exactly the same voice.

"Oh, you two are IMPOSSIBLE!" Ginny yelled, storming out the room, Fred and George singing,

"Ginny and Harry sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"AAGGHH!" Ginny screamed, running up the stairs to her room.

Mrs Weasley stormed out and said,

"Right, that's IT! You two stop teasing Ginny right now! So what if she's going out with anyone? It's none of your business! Go to your room NOW!" Fred and George stomped up to their room.

"And you!" Mrs Weasley rounded on Mr Weasley. "Why didn't you do anything about it? In the kitchen now! I want to talk to you!" She followed an ashamed Mr Weasley into the kitchen.

At that moment, Harry and Ron came in. They had obviously heard the shouting, and when Harry said,

"Did I miss anything?" Hermione burst out laughing.

"No," she managed to say between laughs, "except for the fact that…"

"Harry! Congratulations!" Fred said, coming into the room, and pumping Harry's hand.

"Yeah! We thought it would never happen!" George said, shaking Harry's other hand.

"W-w-what?" Harry stammered, looking from Fred to George and back again with a scared and puzzled expression. Hermione started giggling again.

"You and Ginny! I'm amazed you finally plucked up the courage! We always knew you were meant for each other!" Fred said, as if explaining something simple to a small child. Harry stuttered incoherently and turned gradually red.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TWO TO GO TO YOUR ROOMS!" Mrs Weasley bellowed from the kitchen. Fred and George winced, and let go of Harry's hands and trudged back up the stairs.

Harry sank down on the chair opposite Hermione, putting one hand on his forehead, a shocked expression on his face.

"How did they find out?" he asked, looking at Hermione, who collapsed back into giggles.

"Go… ask… Ginny!" she breathed, still doubled up in laughter. "She… went… to… room!"

"You go Harry, I'll calm Hermione down," Ron said, sitting next to Hermione, putting one arm round her shoulders and starting to talk to her in a calm voice Harry was sure he had learned from his mother. Harry got up and walked quietly up to Ginny's room, trying not to disturb Fred or George. His arms were still sore.

"Ginny?" he said quietly, peering round her door. She was lying on her bed, head in her arms.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Harry said gently, sitting down next to her and putting one hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Harry! It's Fred and George! They started singing the whole Harry and Ginny sitting in a tree thing! They're gonna really tease us!" Ginny said, head still in her arms, her voice shaking from all the crying she had been doing.

"Hey, don't worry about those two! They're just being twerps!"

"And how is that supposed to make me feel better?" Ginny said, not looking up.

"It wasn't meant to, but this is."

"What is it?" Ginny asked, turning her head slowly to look at the box in Harry's hand.

"Open it and find out," Harry said mysteriously. Ginny did that, and inside was a necklace identical to Hermione's. As she lifted it out, she felt something on the back. She turned it over, and, engraved in tiny writing were the words,

_I love you Ginny._

_Harry._

"Oh." Ginny whispered, now in a sitting position on the edge of the bed. "I – I – I think that's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever done for me."

"_One _of the sweetest things?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Well, there was one thing that was way sweeter that happened two years ago. A boy called Harry Potter saved my life." Ginny said. Harry's grin changed into a smile, and he blushed.

"Well, that boy should be your boyfriend instead of me," Harry said, the grin returning.

"You're right. Oh, wait, he is!" Ginny giggled, and fell into Harry's arms, whispering, "Thank you. I love you too Harry." Harry pushed her back slightly, and gently brushed her lips with his. As she gave a soft noise from the back of her throat, Harry kissed her softly. Ginny's lips parted slightly, and she felt the warmth of Harry's tongue in her mouth. As they broke apart, Harry's hand slipped from her waist, picked up the necklace from where it was on the bed, and fastened it around Ginny's neck, kissing her gently as his hand came away.

While this had been going on, Ron had taken Hermione upstairs to his room, still trying to calm her down. He had tried everything, except one thing. He took her face in his hands and kissed her exactly the same way Harry had kissed Ginny. When Ron broke away, Hermione was completely calm, and panting slightly as she once again fidgeted with her necklace.

"Ron," Hermione said, breaking the silence, "how did you afford the necklace?"

"I've been saving up ever since I saw it, last summer holidays. I had a little money then, and I asked if I could put in a deposit and pick it up when I had the rest. When Harry came, I told him and he said I should definitely go through with it. The letter where you said _Love from, Hermione _sealed it." Ron said, blushing slightly.

"Oh. That's really nice. Well, for Christmas, I'm gonna get you something perfect! Something just for you." Hermione said, letting go of her necklace and taking Ron's hand in her own. She leant in, and they kissed again.

Neither couples heard the gentle sniggering of one of the twins outside their door.

At dinner that day, Hermione sat next to Ron, closer than usual, while Ginny and Harry sat on her other side. Fred, George, Mr Weasley and Mrs Weasley sat on the other side of the table, Mrs and Mr Weasley smiling at the two couples, and Fred and George being idiots, occasionally earning Mrs Weasley's glare, which usually quieted them for about five minutes before they started up again.

"So, Ginny, done anything interesting today?" asked George, stressing the interesting, so Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny all knew he meant kissing. Ginny blushed and concentrated on eating her curry.

"What about you Harry?" Fred asked.

"No, nothing really interesting. I just went into town and played chess, if that's what you mean," Harry replied, blushing slightly, but keeping his composure all the same.

"Ron, Hermione? Done anything today?" George asked, quickly chancing a look at his mother, who was obviously the ignorant party, as she was actually looking at Ron and Hermione with genuine interest.

"No. Same as Harry," mumbled Ron, his ears going pink, and copying Ginny.

"Hermione?" George asked, winking at her.

"No, read a book most of the time. And I went for a walk, but otherwise, nothing really exciting or interesting at all," Hermione replied, purposely not looking at Ron, because she knew she would blush.

"Oh. I thought you had done other stuff as well, Ron and Harry," Fred said, looking slightly disappointed, "like, um, comforting people in hysterics or crying."

"No," said Harry, blushing even more, but determined not to let Mrs Weasley see.

After dinner, however, when Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry were in Ginny's room, Fred and George came in.

"We know what you four were doing earlier," George and Fred said simultaneously.

"What on earth do you mean?" Ginny said, standing up, knocking the Exploding Snap pile everywhere.

"You know!" George said, winking at his twin, "When Hermione was in hysterics and when you had just received that necklace from Harry!" He finished triumphantly, grinning.

"And? What is it of your business?" Hermione said, starting to pick up the pile, but stopping when they exploded in her face.

"Nothing, really, but I'm sure Mum would love to know what's going on around here!" Fred said.

"Yeah, because that's wonderful brotherly behaviour, isn't it, you twerps!" Ginny exploded, hitting them both on the arm, hard, before pulling out her wand and pointing it at George.

"Woah!" Fred yelled rubbing his arm.

"Look, I've had about enough! Some things are private, and if you've been nosing around, poking your faces in at keyholes, then pretty soon, I'll find a way to use permanent Bat Bogey Hexes, and you'll be the test subjects!" Ginny yelled, her wand still raised.

"Okay, okay, we'll stop!" George dissembled.

"Good! Now get out of my room!" Ginny yelled, stowing her wand away. Fred and George raised their arms in a gesture of defeat, and left the room. Backwards.

"What?" Ginny snapped, rounding on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as they all stared at her, open mouthed.

"Well, you, you kinda blew up there, Gin," Ron said, smiling slightly, as Ginny sat back down.

"Well, so would you!" Ginny snapped, curling up cat-like, with her head on the pillow.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now," Ron said slowly, grabbing Hermione by the hands and dragging her out the door.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked quietly, putting his hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Yeah, just really tired. I can't wait till we go back to Hogwarts."

"Neither can I. If you're tired, I'll go so you can get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay. Night Harry."

"Night Gin."

And with that, Harry left the room, as Ginny stretched out and went to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

To anyone still reading these…

A while ago, I realised I didn't have much of the inspiration needed to update regularly, so most of my stories went on hold.

Now, I think I may have to leave them for at least 4 years, if not for good.

My A-Level exams are coming up (to anyone not in England, that's the final exams you take which give you the grades for university), and I'm extremely behind. I thought I was on track, but I did incredibly badly in my January exams, and now I'm having to retake most of them. I simply don't have the time to do anything but school work.

Next year, I start a very hard university course.

I don't want to leave these behind, because I love fanfiction. It has improved my English skills fantastically, and I have adored writing everything that appears on here. But I think, at least for now, the fanfiction has to go.

I have thought through it all very thoroughly, and this is my only option. If there was another, I wouldn't be doing this.

I'll leave all my stories up, in the hope that I may come back to them, and there's a couple of one-shots on my computer that I may post, but I think this'll be the last time you'll hear from me.

I'm truly sorry to anyone who wants me to continue. Honestly, I am. This is the one thing I swore I'd never do, but I need all my time to work.

I hope to see you all again one day, when the rush has died.

For what is probably the last time,

Ginnywitch.


End file.
